Of Bow Ties and Carpetbags
by fireflower297
Summary: "Wind's in the East. Mist comin' in. Like somethin' is brewin', about to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store, but I feel what's to 'appen all 'appened before." So says Bert the chimney sweep right before a little girl shows up in 1910, 20 years after her proper time! She meets the Doctor, who takes her home, with unforeseen consequences. After Angels Take Manhattan.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:This is my first Dr. Who fanfiction. It's simply an idea I had explaining why Mary wears a bow tie and stuff like that. I hope you enjoy!

-H

PS-this thing is 8 pgs on word!

The Doctor walked gloomily through the streets of London. He had lost so many of his friends over his long life. In the park, a man entertained folks with his strange music. The Doctor walked over to quietly listen.

The man finished playing and started saying comical poems about the people around him. The Doctor stepped forward and Bert's eyes widened, "Wind's in the East. Mist comin' in. Like somethin' is brewin', about to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store, but I feel what's to 'appen all 'appened before."

Only a few of the onlookers put coins in Bert's cap. The Doctor himself hesitated for a moment before putting in some coins. "May I ask you a question sir?" asked a little girl, walking up to Bert. She wore a pleated skirt and a thick sweater.

Her eyes shone in wonderment, leading the Doctor to believe she was out of her time. Bert nodded at the girl. "Where and when am I?" she inquired, curious.

The Doctor tapped the girl on her shoulder, "You're in London, England and its 1910." A look of puzzlement crossed her face.

"But it was just 1890!" she exclaimed.

"Now, what's your name?" the Doctor asked. The girl stuck her pert little nose up in the air in response. "Oh, I see. It's a guessing game!" He rubbed his hands together and pointed at her, "Mary.

Mary's eyes opened wide in awe, "Why, that's just it!" She looked over at Bert, who wasn't at all surprised at the Doctor's abilities. Bert gave Mary a charming and pleasant smile, which she returned to him.

Suddenly, he started thinking very hard; this Mary seemed quite like his dear friend who went by the same name. Her eyes were even the same shade of blue. Bert walked over to the Doctor, "Doc, would 'er surname 'appen to be Poppins?" The Doctor nodded.

Bert was now confused, he could remember his friend speaking about how horrid time travelers were. Yet here was that same friend, after time traveling herself!

"Bert, if you don't leave soon, you'll get a headache," the Doctor advised before leading little Mary off towards the TARDIS. He opened the door and led her inside.

Her blue eyes opened wider than before. "It's bigger on the inside!" she whispered excitedly to herself. Mary took in the sights and sounds hungrily. "What's this?" she asked the Doctor, pointing at a tape measure.

His eyes lit up and he strode over to her, "That measures people's personalities. Here, I'll show you." The Doctor took it from her hands and pushed a button on its side. The tape unrolled to Mary's height, which the Doctor showed her. In loopy script it said, _**Almost Practically Perfect .**_

Mary glared at the tape measure and said to it angrily, "Stupid, alien tape measure!" The Doctor looked at the girl for a moment and thought.

Then, going into another room while Mary continued to rant and rave, came back with lots of things in his arms.

"Sir, what is all of that?" asked Mary upon his return.

"These, Mary, are things that you will find quite useful in the future."

"Why? Am I to be living on the streets?" she exclaimed, horrified.

"Oh, no. You'll need them for work." Mary looked over at the table where the items now lay.

"What kind of work requires an umbrella, a carpetbag, a blank piece of paper, a tape measure, and _a bow tie_?" Mary asked, especially curious as to the last item's significance.

"Oh, I must have accidentally grabbed that," the Doctor said, his voice full of melancholy.

"Well, sir, I like it!" Mary said cheerily. "Now then, spit, spot! I need to get home!"

The Doctor gave Mary a knowing smile and started up the TARDIS' engines. In a jiffy, they were back to when and where Mary disappeared; a quiet, forested park in 1890. In fact, it was the same London park they had just left. The biggest difference was the number of trees and houses surrounding it.

Mary said goodbye to the Doctor. Then, turning back, she asked, "Sir, are you an animal, vegetable, mineral, or alien?"

"Good work, Mary Poppins."

"Sir how is it that you know my name, but I don't know yours?" the girl demanded.

He paused for a moment before answering, "They call me… the Doctor." Mary let this sink in before quickly walking off.

Her pace was quick, yet steady and she held the carpetbag carefully with both hands. Inside the house, her parents sat with a young Bert, quietly drinking their tea. Mary could now see that Bert had chalk dust in his hair from when they had traced each other on the pavement a few hours earlier.

Mary's mother looked towards the window, giving the hint that Mary was allowed to come inside. She walked in and quietly sat in her chair, stuffing the carpetbag underneath. Mrs. Poppins cast a curious glance at the bag. She felt certain that she had seen the pattern before, though it wasn't amongst her own belongings.

Teatime finished presently and Mary and Bert asked to be excused. When every last dish was spotless, Mrs. Poppins returned to the drawing room. She pulled the bag out from under Mary's seat and quietly unlatched it.

The first item she pulled out was the bow tie. Mrs. Poppins looked at the tie, eyes wide in amazement and whispered, "He's back."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Whoops! I forgot the disclaimer last time. Don't own Doctor Who or Mary Poppins and probably never will. ENJOY!

H

In the TARDIS, a light started to pulsate. The Doctor glanced over at it, curious as to why the old girl was making such a fuss. It wasn't as if an old companion had contacted him; was it? Last time the TARDIS had done this was last year, when Mary Poppins popped up in a park twenty years in her future.

Suddenly, a banging started on the door. Scowling, the Doctor turned from his post to see who it was. Through the video feed he could see two figures, one male and one female. Both had dark hair, light eyes, and appeared to be in their early twenties.

The young man was covered from head to toe in chalk dust and soot. However, the young woman was spotlessly clean, a great feat when the person next to you is one of the sootiest on the planet. "Doctor, let us in!" she cried with continued banging.

The Doctor opened the door, letting the couple fall in. Then, he quickly closed the door after them. The woman brushed herself and stood up. Then, she picked up the bag that had fallen on the metal grating. The pattern was a peculiar one and the time lord recognized it almost immediately.

"Mary Poppins!" he cried, shaking her hand warmly. Mary smiled before presenting the man beside her.

"Doctor, this is my good friend Bert," she said. Bert looked awestruck and simply stared at the alien. "Bert, aren't you going to thank him?" the nanny pushed.

Bert regained his composure and finally put out a hand towards the Doctor, "Doc, I'm eternally grateful to you!"

"Of course. Of course. What seems to be the problem?" the Doctor stared at his hand, deciding whether or not it would be rude to wash his hands right then. He settled on the next best thing and rubbed them together, ready for almost anything.

"Aliens, Doctor. That's why we came to you," Mary explained. "You're the only one we know who can help."

"Nu-uh. If you look once more at your family, I believe you'll find more people with experience."

"Like who?"

"Your mother, for one. Rose is a very capable person."

"How do you know my mother's name?" Mary asked with a frown.

"How? Because, she used to travel with me."

Bert exchanged a look with his friend, who said, "I certainly was unaware of that."

"I, personally, was surprised that they got back into this universe," the Doctor said with a shrug. Soon, a happy glint came into his eyes, "I like your tie, it's _very_ cool!" He had noticed the red bow tie around her neck and was beginning to be quite pleased that he had influenced her clothing choices.

"Doctor," she warned. Mary had seen some of her previous wards act like this when trying to avoid a conversation. It _always_ caused trouble.

"How's the nanny business been to you Mary?" the Doctor asked.

"Well enough, Doctor. Now, please expand on how you know my mother," she brought the parrot head of her umbrella to face him.

"Time lords. _HA!_" said the wooden handle. This earned a glare from the Doctor, who was starting to resent helping Mary earlier.

"Now then. If you don't want my umbrella to continue criticizing you, I would suggest that you speak, Doctor," she said with a fierce look in her eyes.

"I met her when I blew up the shop she worked in," he supplied. He didn't want Mary's parrot criticizing him. "Last time she saw me was at Bad Wolf Bay, when I left her with someone like me. That is to say, he looked like me."

"The first time I met anyone who looked like you was when I was seven years old and that _was_ you," Mary said.

"That's not true. I'll bet your father looks like my last face." All Mary did in response was glance towards her carpetbag. Bert opened up the bag, offering it to her. She pulled out a little book after a quick search and handed it to the Time Lord.

"These are quite good," he said, thumbing through it. Landing towards the center of the book, he said, "Here we are!" and pointed at the sketch.

"Blimey! D' you draw that Mary?! I come back after twelve years an' you're a _refined woman_!" Bert proclaimed, impressed. He scrutinized the drawing for a minute before saying, "They're your folks alrigh' Mary. Got any pitchers like that of me?"

Mary gently placed a bookmark next to her parents' faces and turned a few pages. "Here you are Bert, like a codfish. A supercalifragilisticexpialidocious codfish to be exact, but still a codfish." A smug look crossed the young man's face.

The TARDIS started beeping furiously. The Doctor checked the monitor and turned back to his guests. "We have a bigger problem than that right now."


End file.
